It was just something I have been wondering about. What boats are built using the perkins? Someone told me that whatever I do, stay away from the Perkins Saber. Why would that be? I will say that when I repower my boat I was unable to get ANY help from Perkins Saber . I figured that if they did not care to talk to me I did not care to buy their product. But I know nothing about the quality of their products.

Gunner, it's still the same ole reliable work horse and parts are still easily available arouind the world, and parts would have to be one of the cheapest of any engine manufacturer out there.
Maybe the guy that said stay away, is not a seller of that product. Hmmm, he's not suggesting Volvo is he
However, service is essential no matter what engine you have. So if you are not getting the pre-sales service, you will have little confidence in getting the after sales service. Who are you trying to talk to?? A local distributor or Perkins themselves???

Caterpillar bought Perkins/Sabre for a very good reason. They are dam good engines and Cat now use them for all their low horsepower requirements. They just paint em yellow. Base units are cheap compared with European/Japanese, parts are cheap, reliability is excellent. Warranty backup shouldn't be an issue with Cat's involvement but I would walk away from Cat for maintenance after warranty period as they are criminally expensive anywhere in the world.
Best thing!! They are simple, any diesel machanic can repair them with no special tools needed for basic engine work.
Worst thing!! They won't attract the chicks like a Volvo will. But then again, they won't induce bankruptcy like a Volvo will.

Cat bought Perkins Saber? Did they also buy Perkins? I do know that when Cummin's bought Onan it was not good for the older Onan products. I have a 1992 Onan genset that most parts are not avalible for. What NEW boats have Perkins products in them?

Perkins Sabre manage the Perkins brand of engines (some corporate manipulation no doubt). Perkins have been owned by Cat for about 7 years I think. Scary eh?
Not sure about your Onan problems but Cat & Perkins are usually real easy to get parts for, no matter what the age.
I'm new to sailing but not commercial boats so can't tell you what sailboats they're fitted to. I fitted one to an aquaculture barge as an auxillary engine a couple of years ago. Totally blew all other poular brands out of the water as far as price. Can't comment on the warranty service as the thing ran perfectly from day 1.

Back in my company rep'ing day's, I used to call into a major Catapillar machinery operator (Pete, you would know the name of Hoods). They had a direct connection to Cat in the USA, totaly bypassing the NZ Cat dealer. Anypart ordered (within reason of size of course)would be on their doorstep within 24hrs. How they could do this I don't know and at what cost I know even less. Of course, this was something like 16yrs ago and it maybe different today. ButI do know, even getting something overnight from anywhere in NZ is an ordeal and comes at a huge cost. To have something come all the way from the US is plain increadible.

In the "domestic" market, Yanmar would be one of the most prelivant, along with Volvo. The commercial market is where you will find the Perkins and such. Yanmar are light weight high performance with lower overall life (in eng. hrs). They are fine for all of us, but for a commercial vessel that would clock up more hrs in one year than we would in our lifetime, a Yanmar is not always the best choice. In commercial vessels, Weight and performace is not so much an issue, but longevity and ease of maintanace is. Hence why you will see the big famouse names in the big boats, like the Perkins, Cat, Gardner, MTU and so on.

Now don't get me wrong and maybe I can be proven wrong with this comment. Even though I am a big fan of Yanmar, I just don't view them as a "Commercial" engine. I think they are built light for their HP and as a result, don't have the longevity. They are high performance engines, built with a high power to weight ratio. Still a great engine, but just not a "commercial" engine where weight is not so much the issue. But also in saying that, it would also be true to say, probably 90% of the commercial market would be much much bigger engines anyway and would be waaay beyond the 300HP class.

I think you are right, Wheels. I just notice that Yanmar is getting a bigger bite of the "small engine" market. I don't think they are best. I think price and marketing (lots of dealers now) are helping them grow, and perhaps some of the big boys don't feel they need to protect this part of there business. Hmmm...that sounds familiar.... car manufacturers maybe ?